Abstract
The presence of World Heritage Sites has been frequently used as a mean of tourism promotion and increased attractiveness. However, previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the territorial impact of World Heritage Sites, and very few researchers discussed their impact in Eastern Europe. This paper examines how the presence of World Heritage Sites in rural localities influenced the tourism growth and sustainable development in Romania after 2000. Independent Sample t-test was used to analyse the evolution of tourism and sustainable development indicators between 2001 and 2016. The results suggest an absence of a positive effect induced by World Heritage Sites in rural areas. It seems that, by itself, the brand has not enough power to sustain tourist attractiveness if it is not endorsed by national, regional, and local initiatives. These findings lead a discussion about how certain sites managed to induce a sustained tourism growth while others failed to do so.
Highlights
World Heritage Sites (WHS), either natural, cultural, or mixed, as listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), designate an outstanding significance for the human civilization, its label being supposed to indicate, at the same time, a conservation factor [1]
Is it judicious to assume that there is a strong connection between the presence of WHS and tourism growth? In the tourism sector of 21st century, the presence of WHS has become a hot topic for both authorities and researchers [3,4,5,6]
Our study aims to verify if there really is an impact from WHS designation on tourism growth and on sustainable development in the Romanian rural areas and to suggest new approaches for WHS destinations
Summary
World Heritage Sites (WHS), either natural, cultural, or mixed, as listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), designate an outstanding significance for the human civilization, its label being supposed to indicate, at the same time, a conservation factor [1]. Previous studies are divided in two teams, each one confirming or denying the presence of a quantifiable effect of the WHS designation on tourism growth. Within the former group, there is a general belief, based mainly on quantitative studies, that WHS designation has an immediate positive effect reflected on the increase of tourist arrivals and incomes [3,7,8,9]. This effect is visible because the public becomes more aware of the site and its value [1]. As other authors have argued, the status change of a heritage site from National Heritage to World Heritage can sometimes create a new image of the place, attracting more visitors [4,5]
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